He agreed with the suggestion that the prosecution should not have been brought and that the alleged victim had only gone to police after looking him up online.

The court had been told that Mr Talafair did not go to police until a day after the incident when he discovered the identity of his alleged attacker, and threatened to go to the newspapers with his story.

He was accused of making up the racial abuse because he knew Terry's son, Chelsea captain John, had fallen foul of using racist language too.

Giving evidence, Mr Terry, of Essex, had admitted swearing but said he never used racist language.

Asked by his barrister Alexia Power if he used racial abuse, he said: "No I never. I just said 'F*** off, go back downstairs', things like that.

"It wasn't no racist stuff."

He admitted "pressing his head" against Mr Talafair's mouth.

Terry's co-defendants Stephen Niland, 36, and Moldova-born Tudor Musteata, 47, were also found not guilty of racially-aggravated fear or provocation of violence.

Jurors were told that two months after he was accused of the attack on Mr Talafair, Ted Terry was fined £200 for calling a member of the public a 'f***ing Irish p***k' and 'pikey c***.'

Mr Terry said after the verdict that he planned to call his son, former England captain John Terry [PA]

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